RT DELIVERS FIRST EVER 360-DEGREE VIDEO FROM SPACE

MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 18, 2016 –RT is the world’s first broadcaster to release a 360-degree documentary made on board the International Space Station (ISS). A series of videos shot using cutting-edge, immersive video technology as part of the network’s special Space 360 project will take the viewer on a tour of the station, with Russian cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko as host and tour guide. The initiative is a collaborative effort of RT, Roscosmos State Corporation, and Energia Rocket and Space Corporation.

“For the first time in history, we have made a 360-degree video in a zero-gravity environment,” says Eduard Chizhikov, who heads up RT’s 360 video production. “Our task was to combine education and entertainment. We have been greatly aided in this by our host, cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko, who introduces the audience to the various aspects of life on-board the ISS.”

As part of RT’s Space 360 project, Andrey Borisenko will regularly produce immersive videos shot in the space station’s various modules, while explaining their specific purpose and history. In addition, featurettes in the documentary will offer insight into astronaut training, spaceship production, and flight control.

“Space 360 is a fantastic project. It’s been an incredible collaboration. This is the first time in history we are making an immersive video of the station. This will give the viewers an opportunity to see everything here the way we see it, and get an idea of what it feels like to be an cosmonaut,” says Borisenko.

The head of RSC Energia’s Scientific-Technical Center, Alexander Kaleri, contributed to the project as a science consultant.

At the end of 2015, RT presented its first short documentary shot in panoramic format, which was titled Donbass: The Ravaged Heart of Europe. The film, which was shot in the war-torn city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, offers a multidimensional view of the conflict. RT began producing regular news content in 360-degree format in early 2016, including footage filmed from drones and HD live-streams and made available on its YouTube channels. In May, RT released panoramic footage of Moscow’s Victory Day Parade that had been shot from helicopters, fighter jets, and tanks rolling through famed Red Square. RT also captured remarkable panoramic video of massive Russia-China navy drills in the South China Sea, stunts performed by a Russian aerobatic team, the Democratic National Convention in the United States, rallies in Paris, the aftermath of the Rostov-on-Don plane crash, and more. Last October, RT correspondent Murad Gazdiev made a unique 360 video in the streets of war-torn Homs and Palmyra in Syria.